The Amish at Andover, Ohio (15 Photos)


With Amish found in over 500 locations across North America, you have a decent chance of stumbling across a community while on the road (assuming you stay off the interstate).

Don Burke had this happen on a recent road trip when he came upon an unexpected settlement in northeastern Ohio.

He shares his passing visit to the Andover settlement, along with some photos in today’s guest post.


I enjoy visiting various Amish settlements whenever I can. When I am going to be on the road I look to see if I will be passing near a new-to-me community – always hoping to see some place or some thing that I’ve not seen before.

A few months ago my wife and I shared here on Amish America about an autumn car trip that we took to New England. That article highlighted a last minute schedule change which allowed us to spend a little time in the brown-top buggy region of New Wilmington, PA.




But not all of our Amish encounters on that trip were quite so planned. After spending a couple of nights in Mt. Hope (Holmes Co., OH) we hit the road heading north and east, with the goal of getting to Niagara Falls before nightfall. Cruising along Highway 6 we came upon a very unexpected surprise.

As usual we had done our pre-trip research, and we knew there were a very few scattered Amish settlements along our route this day, so we weren’t so surprised around Andover, OH, to see an Amish wagon with the orange SMV triangle on it.

Nor was it a shock when we noticed occasional “Amish blue” doors…

…on some Amish homes in that area…

… or even when we noticed an outhouse beside one of the homes.

This two-district settlement sported a handful of typical signs for home-industry items available for those who had time and interest to stop and look.

Note: The sign here is hard to read, this is a combined bakery and quilt business.

We only noticed two Amish people (both ladies) as we passed through, and their dress did seem a little different than most Amish places I’ve been, but such variations from one community to another is common.

But the one thing that was the real surprise to me was the white-topped buggies used by this community, …

…along with blue lanterns mounted on either side of the buggies. I had never seen anything like this before.

I understand that this type of buggy is the hallmark of the rather conservative Nebraska Amish. Later on this same trip we also visited a much larger Nebraska Amish settlement as we went through the Big Valley area of Pennsylvania.

Sadly you can’t do all you want to do while traveling, and other demands on our time didn’t allow us to do more than snap a few pictures while passing through. But even if it was a brief view, this little surprise along the roadside certainly brightened my day.


Erik: I happened to visit this community as well, about ten years ago, though my journey there was intentional. Here’s my post on that visit.

At the time, this was the only Nebraska Amish settlement outside of Pennsylvania, though another Nebraska settlement was later founded in New York.

Have you ever been to a Nebraska Amish settlement? You can read more on this group here.

A special thanks to Don, and you can find more of his photos at his Facebook page.

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10 Comments

  1. KimH

    Andover

    While Andover isn’t that far from me and we used to ride motorcycles out that way often, I’ve never seen any Amish out there nor White top buggies. They’re kind of cool looking.

  2. Debbie H

    White Top Buggy

    The white top buggy is actually kind of pretty. I imagine they are a lot cooler in the heat of Summer as well. Thanks Don for stopping to take these pictures and share them with us.

  3. Alice Mary

    Your photos and “travelogue” are, as usual, much appreciated, Don. I would agree with Debbie H about those white topped buggies being cooler in the summer heat. I also find it interesting about the more modern signage in this conservative group. This is just more proof that “the Amish” can’t be pigeon-holed. Their diversity is apparent to all who pay enough attention!

    Thank you again! And Godspeed on your continuing travels.

    Alice Mary

    1. The Nebraska Amish have been called one of the plainest groups, though in contrast to the Swartzentruber churches, they all use the SMV triangle, and there are actually 5 or 6 subgroups, some of whom are more progressive on technology. Several years back I was surprised to meet a couple of Nebraska Amish businessmen with cellphones (“dumb” phones not smartphones, but mobile phones nonetheless).

  4. Thanks...

    Thanks everyone for your kind comments. And as always, thanks to Erik for giving me the opportunity to share some of my Amish visits here on AmishAmerica. Alice Mary, you really hit the nail on the head — the Amish can not legitimately by pigeon-holed, but rather each community and even each person is totally unique. Far too many have yet to see the truth of that.

  5. Rhonda Shultz

    The Amish at Andover, Ohio

    I love the big barn pictures from Andover, Ohio. I wish there was a way to get a copy of it. Thanks

    1. Rhonda, please forgive a 2-year delay in responding to your request, but I did not receive a notice of your comment/request here. If you would still like the pictures, if you can give me contact information I will be more than happy to see what can be worked out.

  6. David Treusch

    copy of Andover pictures, please?

  7. David Treusch if you can provide your contact information I will be glad to discuss this with you.

  8. Alan

    Nebraska White Top Amish

    I live about 15 miles east of Andover and know of several Nebraska White Top Amish. In addition to their white-topped buggies with no electric lighting, I believe they have no electricity (even 12-volt) or plumbing in their homes. On dark rainy nights it can be a challenge to see their buggies on the road, lit only by kerosene lights.

    In addition to the Nebraska Amish, the area is surrounded by old order Amish, then as one comes east towards our place, and crosses Rt 18, there is a good-sized group of rather progressive new order Amish.